Description of the attraction
The National Archaeological Museum of Cagliari is one of the most interesting sights not only of the city, but of the whole of Sardinia. This huge museum provides a unique opportunity to get acquainted with the ancient history of the island and its mysterious inhabitants. The collection of the museum contains artifacts of various ancient cultures from the pre-uragic period to the era of ancient Rome, including ceramics from Phoenician tombs, jewelry of the ancient Carthaginians and bronze items from the Nuraghe. The museum also houses a collection of ceramics, clay and glass products, Roman statues, sarcophagi and gold jewelry from the Middle Ages. On the first floor of the museum, you can get acquainted with the periodization of the history of Sardinia from the early Neolithic and the Middle Ages, and the remaining three floors are arranged in accordance with the topographic principle (according to the place where the finds were made).
From the Neolithic and Eneolithic era, the museum exhibits pottery, stone dishes, obsidian arrows and blades, necklaces of bones and shells, and various images of the mother goddess. The section with finds from the grave of Kukkuru deserves special attention: here you can see mysterious stone female figurines that depict the so-called "Mediterranean Mother".
Nuragic artifacts are represented in the museum by pottery, stone utensils, bronze weapons and, of course, small bronze figurines - all found at Sou Benatza in Santadi, Santa Vittoria in Serri, Sant Anastasia in Sardar, Cianeddu in Cabras and Molina in Villanovafranca. Bronze figurines depict clan leaders, warriors, priests, goddesses, archers and other characters. In the same section, you can see a reconstruction of a Nuragic burial site and a model of a Nuragic tower.
The era of the Phoenician colonization of Sardinia, the Carthaginian conquest of the island and its subsequent capture by the Roman Empire occupies one of the largest sections of the museum. Artifacts from the necropolises of Nora and Tuvikseddu, burial urns, ritual steles, reconstruction of a Phoenician tomb, ceramic vases, statues of the emperors Nero and Trajan, oil lamps richly decorated with Christian symbols, clay pottery, etc. are exhibited here.
